Why You Should Stop Shampooing Your Hair

Why You Should Stop Shampooing Your Hair

Why You Should Stop Shampooing Your Hair

Gwyneth Paltrow thinks so. She wrote on her blog aptly named Goop.com that she read somewhere that body lotions and Shampoo can cause cancer. However, Ms. Paltrow has been proved wrong and her claims seems to be unfounded and unreasonable, but still, it doesn’t make shampoo out of the fire as many believe that its not only bad for your hair, as it is unnecessary.

Sulfate-free shampoo

In the curly girl forums, the word shampoo is often refereed to as the SHAM- POO and the reason being mostly because shampoo is bad for you hair and the mainstream media trying to sell you the idea that you really need a shampoo when its bad for your hair (curly hair) is the big sham.

They defend the principle that if the main ingredient for a shampoo formula are the same for a dishwashing liquid, it is too strong, of course given the conclusion that you would never wash your hair with the dishwashing liquid.

That is the primary idea, but the evil corporations are bombarding us with the idea that shampoo is most necessary to achieve the hair of the stars, so we must keep on using it; however, using some tricks to overwrite the negative effects of shampoo might have on our hair. So, should you stop using shampoo altogether? I say that depends entirely on your comfort level.

Shampooing

The idea of not using shampoo on the scalp to keep your head clean isn’t new at all. India for example is full of alternatives like organic washing powders such as Meena and many other brands, even mud to keep the scalp healthy. I, for one used to co-wash my hair, once introduced to the concept by Sanjeev in one of his hair posts, of course, he might not remember it, but may I say, I changed my hair’s “lifestyle” and I heartily thank you Sanjeev.

I used to wash my hair with conditioner (Albert V05) because sulfate-free shampoos weren’t mainstream until one year back and I could only find them in high-end brands, so I gave up on them, but within months, I was out of my initial euphoria and started to miss my shampoos, then TBS had launched a sulfate-free permanent line that was very good, but I came to make my peace and used sulfate-based shampoos eventually because through error and trial, I found what is best for my hair.

Soapnut

All this hair adventure has enabled me to educate myself regarding my hair and to be fearless with it. Hair is a piece of protein and as long as it has come through your scalp, it is dead and the only thing you can do to get hair length is to preserve the protein, by not damaging it and one of the way, if you are not ready to give up on sulfate shampoos is to put a pre-shampoo treatment on your hair so that it minimizes the stripping of natural oil that actually keeps your scalp happy and healthy.

Hair

Many of us do the oil massage on our scalps before shampooing, but some may have not even realized that this ritual is often done to avoid the down side of a wash with a harsh chemical, while the massage is good for your scalp and the oil penetrates the hair, none like that sticky feeling and oily look on our hair, so we have to wash it. A balanced hair regimen is the best way to understand how your hair will behave and what is better for it, as if your hair is too porous you need to apply more protein, or if it is too frizzy, you have to use a humectant to keep humidity away.

I advice everyone to look around in the hair section and educate oneself about hair and learn how products interact and it will all make sense to you sooner or later, just be happy and improve what you have, after all its just hair:)

Image Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

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47 thoughts on “Why You Should Stop Shampooing Your Hair

  1. A very well-written article deb…….makes me think about what all I put into my hair and as an initiative to get better hair, I am going to start taking iron supplements for hair from today :haanji:

    1. ha jomo, also i hear it is good to break a hair supplement or vitamin directly into your shampoo bottle, it seems to give good results :waytogo: :waytogo: :waytogo:

  2. thought-provoking. am all for natural home-made hair stuff but never came across a squeaky clean alternative to the store bought shampoo.

    1. You can do a ACV(apple cider vinegar) rinse Praseena many says it leave their hair squeak clean, some other that it has no science behind it though… 🙄 🙄

  3. I’ve been considering the ‘no poo’ technique for quite sometime now. Never got around actually doing it. People say hair gets oily, messy and very itchy the first 30 or so days. But after the first month of torture,hair gets thicker, shiner and you don’t need any leave-in conditioners nor any styling products. Guess this what cavewomen would swear by eons ago! haha Right now, however, I oil my hair two days before washing it to minimize damage. :toothygrin:

  4. Yet another useful article!! Deb, I really like ur articles… I currently use TBS Rainforest Shampoo as its sulphate free…
    I cant oil my hair, I find it terribly difficult to get rid of the oil even after 4 washes! :yikes:
    I’m gonna try ur Carrot pre wash recipe as it sounds totally awesome..
    Do write more articles like these… They r so interesting! :waytogo: :waytogo: :waytogo:

    1. :thanks: Ramya, try to oil only the ends of your hair (start from below your ears never higher if you have oily scalp) that is the oldest hair on your head and it must be damage free for length retention 🙂

      1. Thanks Deb, I’ll try out that next time I oil my hair. :haanji:
        BTW, can glycerin be used instead of honey for the leave-in conditioner?
        I never know if the honey at home is pure.. :((

  5. OMG your hair! :inlove:

    I agree that the sulfate free shampoos make all the difference. Having curly hair myself, I can see and feel the difference when I use TBS compared to like Herbal Essences etc.

  6. deb super awesome article. I started using the TBS range but all i found was my hair going flat and limp. It used to keep my hair soft but they used to be flat. 🙁 the loccitane ones dont contain the SLS so I am kinda gonna stick to them.

    hihih i must read the co wash article now :shame:

    1. Rati, its because your hair is straight and fine, don’t use TBS moisturizing line as it will be too heavy for your hair or things like butters and pomade. Stick to what you like best and like they say if it isnt broken dont fix it 😀

        1. Yeah I know some brands only offer extremes, you can put a oil treatment before washing but use a lighter oil like jojoba oil, and for when my conditioner is too heavy i dilute it with a bit of water or to use the TBS butter which i have I apply it to my hair soaking wet, everything never only damp hair but dripping is the ones i found to give better results.

          1. I liked that TBS butteerrzzz… :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: :yahoo: i use olive oil.. have bene using it for years no. only that kinda works for t hair .. bt i never tried jojoba.. i’ll checkoozz .. thankoo :puchhi: :puchhi: :puchhi:

      1. Sanjeevji, where can I find the co-wash article? Am not able to find it via search :((
        Am real eager to read that now!!! :woot: :woot: :woot:

              1. When my hair was very short(pixie cut) yes I did feel clean washing only with cond. but as I started to retain length not so much. I use a TBS shampoo no sls, but i still have to dilute it in water for lather and i own also SLS shampoos, really depends on what i had applied previously on my hair and if i am not feeling clean i keep on scrubbing :specs:

            1. WOWWW!!!! I just read the article. Its really awesome!!!! And I’m gonna think seriously abt co-washing from now. :yahoo: :yahoo:
              Thanks a lot for the link Rati!!! I must say, this is such an informative blog and I really appreciate the help I have gotten from it… I owe u guys :waytogo: :waytogo: :waytogo: :waytogo:

          1. i just read the article too. somehow I had missed it. very informative. By mistake I had washed my hair with conditioner once becos the bottles looked so similar. Little did I know that it might have actually been a good thing. 🙂

  7. :thanks: for this awesome article,Deb! :pompom: I’ll take better care of my hair henceforth. This article is a good reminder! :preen: :pigtail:

  8. the TBS Rainforest moisture shampoo introduced me to hair fall, now am taking treatment to stop hair fall and to grow it back.

  9. Very interesting article, Deb. :thumbsup: Great insights! :toothygrin: I too became rather careful about my hair when I started losing them in clumps after a bout of typhoid. Nowadays, I only shampoo twice a week and on Sundays, my mum makes me this homemade reetha-shikakai-something concoction that makes my hair shine with health. :pigtail: I used to have naturally poker straight hair that I got permed sometime back and I’ve noticed that sometimes, even if I just “shampoo” them with a good conditioner alone instead of putting foamy shampoos on them, they feel much healthier. :preen: :woot:

  10. kiske baal hain Deb, will chop her locks and the stick it to mine 😉 …….I used to have such hair once upon a time, but carelessness and negligence :pigtail: caused me to loose all my precious hair and now i know the value of healthy and long hair……sob sob….

  11. After reading the article, I am pondering on one thing…. I go to gym daily and hair are such a mess after an hour and half of it that if i don’t wash them… they stink :poop: apart from looking awful… so have to wash it almost everyday (have to skip thursday)… What to do, which is fast, hassle free & also economical in the long run. Fast & hassle free is more imp. Pl help..

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